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Danish health service ends offer of paid Covid-19 vaccine

People not in groups eligible for Covid-19 booster vaccines through Denmark’s public health system will now be able to access vaccination though private providers.

Published: 2 October 2023 13:50 CEST

Danish health service ends offer of paid Covid-19 vaccine

A man is vaccinated against Covid-19. Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

The Danish public health service is to cease it paid Covid-19 vaccination service, meaning people not in eligible groups for free vaccination must now go through a private clinic should they wish to receive a booster jab against the coronavirus.

The paid service, in place since November last year, will now close, the Danish Health Authority said in a statement.

The 2023 autumn vaccination programme began on Monday, with people over the age of 65 and others in certain risk groups offered free vaccinations against Covid-19 alongside influenza at a large number of participating pharmacies.

Women in the thirteenth week or later of pregnancy are also offered vaccination under the scheme.

READ ALSO: Denmark to offer Covid and influenza booster vaccines to over-65s

The self-paid option for vaccination will be closed because vaccination is available on the private market under normal market forces, the health authority said.

A reduced price was previously offered through the health service system, but the service was primarily created because there were no private clinics offering Covid-19 vaccination at the time. Additionally, Denmark had a surplus of vaccines after purchasing large numbers during the pandemic.

Private clinics can purchase the version of the vaccine adapted for the currently-dominant virus variants from the national infectious disease control agency, State Serum Institute (SSI).

Vaccines can be sold either by pharmacies or private clinics, depending on which businesses decide to offer them.

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Tick season in Denmark: Demand for TBE vaccine soars in parts of country

Baltic Sea island Bornholm is the part of Denmark most known to be a risk area for the rare, but dangerous disease tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).

However, last year saw a rise in the number of people from Copenhagen, Greater Copenhagen and North Zealand seeking vaccination against the disease, according to figures released by the national disease control agency, State Serum Institute (SSI), reported by local media TV2 Kosmopol.

In North Zealand alone, the number of vaccinations increased last year from around 500 to 2,000 per 100,000 residents.

Nationally, 89,000 doses were given last year according to SSI, around three times the expected amount.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about ticks in Denmark and how to avoid them

The trend is expected to continue in 2024. The vaccination serice Danske Lægers Vaccinations Services has already administered 11,500 so far this year at its 47 clinics across the country. That is 3.5 times more than in the same period last year, with 75 percent of the vaccinations given on Zealand.

Walks in the countryside and trips to Sweden were given by patients requesting the vaccine, the company’s CEO Tanja Sølvkjær told TV 2 Kosmopol.

SSI states on its website that the primary risk areas in Denmark are still Bornholm and the rural North Zealand region of Tisvilde Hegn. However, there may also be some risk of TBE infection elsewhere on Zealand, the agency states.

Head of department at SSI Peter Henrik Andersen said that while it is good that people are seeking vaccination against the virus, the right people must be vaccinated.

Vaccination may be relevant if you regularly visit forests where cases of TBE infection have been detected, he said.

SSI case mapping shows that five cases of TBE were detected on Bornholm last year, while there were two in Tisvilde Hegn and the surrounding area.

Ticks (skovflåter) can be found all over Denmark in forests, meadows, and long grass. They are particularly active during the summer months and increase in number if the weather has been warm and humid.

In Denmark, the most common disease ticks transmit is Lyme disease, but ticks can also carry the very rare but dangerous TBE.

Only people who spend extended time in forests near Tisvilde Hegn as well as on the island of Bornholm should consider vaccination, SSI experts have previously said.

TBE is a viral brain infection caused by a particular tick bite. Flu-like symptoms can occur a week or more after the bite and can develop to include nausea, dizziness, and in around a third of cases, severe long-term problems or permanent neurological damage.

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